Moving on up from Kentish Town (click ;)) (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=589177/) , I ventured into the hills of Hampstead. For those who don’t know, this is one of London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods. According to Wikipedia there are some of the most expensive houses, not just in London, but in the World – with homes regularly selling for millions of pounds.

There are very much two sides of Hampstead – the village, which is full of tight, twisty, windy little alleys, and quaint Victorian buildings, the epitome of ‘London’. Then there are the leafy streets full of huge, gated mansions and large terraced houses. I tried to get a bit of both in this set of pics…..

1. Looking down Hampstead High Street, to the left is the Tube Station – the deepest on the network.
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1153/highstreet4uh8.jpg

2. As far as high street architecture goes, I don’t think these buildings are anything special – in fact there are many downmarket areas of London that, in my opinion, have a much more impressive high street buildings than Hampstead – nevertheless, still very nice.
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8039/stationwa5.jpg

3. Further down the High Street it loses the Victorian oppressiveness, and becomes more of a quaint little village
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5715/highstreet3km1.jpg

4.
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/2663/highstreet1ah6.jpg

5.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7695/highstreet2dd5.jpg

6.
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2476/parkingxd9.jpg

7.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6443/priuswt5.jpg

8.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3471/bangolufsenxz3.jpg

9. I do love a pretty Shop Front…if only all of London could be like this
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/3820/bombaygc4.jpg

10. I fell in love with this building…a very stylish Lloyds TSB bank
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1651/lloydstsbet4.jpg

11.
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/5395/balconytsbck9.jpg

12.
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/8061/walkonbytsbty1.jpg

13.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3976/thelanehw3.jpg

14.
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/8598/windsweptwalkqm3.jpg

15. Some more of that Village feel….(bare in mind this is only a few miles from central London)
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2360/village1zp8.jpg

16.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5876/village2tu6.jpg

17.
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/3994/volvovm6.jpg

18.
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6678/throughtreeszy1.jpg

19. St Johns Church
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/5721/stjohnshy1.jpg

20.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/442/hidenhousesrv1.jpg

21.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4154/alley2bi1.jpg

22.
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6752/hollybushvalejr1.jpg

23.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/8439/hollybushvale2oi5.jpg

24.
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3497/hollybushvale4cb3.jpg

25.
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5127/hollywalkfm5.jpg

26.
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4787/hometime2qe5.jpg

27. Something more modern – quite a few of this style of building doted around…
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/8656/modernrt8.jpg

28. I’ve never seen so many Toyota Prius’s in my life – the good residents of Hampstead are doing their best to save the planet….how admirable of them.
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2949/priusagainrs0.jpg

29. G-Whizz, check out the little car ;)
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/4355/gwhizzmc7.jpg

30..
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1861/fiat500afd8.jpg

31.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4074/miniwr0.jpg

32. As well as trying to save the planet, they are also trying to destroy it…..’tis a beautiful car though ;)
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1069/ferrarikt4.jpg

33.
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/3832/porscheyl5.jpg

34.
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6039/mansionsmf1.jpg

35.
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/7769/nicehousesvl9.jpg

36.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1093/northendzu3.jpg

37.
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1076/northend2sk6.jpg

38.
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/6176/terracesds4.jpg

39.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5912/lamppostyy2.jpg

40.
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/3495/cottages2he4.jpg

41.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/5467/couplesj4.jpg

42.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9154/doorson4.jpg

43.
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1373/hampsteadsquarene8.jpg

44.
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/3951/cottagesvr3.jpg

45.
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3785/alley4ow6.jpg

46.
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/760/alley1ml0.jpg

47. Some art work on display
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2995/paintingsqk4.jpg

48.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1450/littlegirlkq6.jpg

49.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1369/hometimerg2.jpg

50. Moving up to Hampstead Heath for a spot of lunch – one of Londons largest and oldest parklands…it is literally like being in the countryside.
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2702/theheath2ui1.jpg

51.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2124/theheath1bk6.jpg

52. The view over London
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2134/thecity1uw4.jpg

53.
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/5682/thecity2st8.jpg

54.
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/7436/painterhb1.jpg

That’s all for now – a couple more to follow :)

Lovely pictures! We find Hampstead such a beautiful place. We love to wander about the village and explore the heath. There are so many small museums to discover; Fenton House, Keat's House and Kenwood House etc. It is a very scenic place filled with art galleries and cosy corners which bring the artist out in us. We love the gentle slopes of the landscape and the panoramic views of London in the distance. Indeed this is one of the many charms of London with its distinct villages.

So incredible quaint, quiet, peacefully, stylish and beautiful! Thank you so much for showing us this, I always love to find little jewels like this! Please, continue with your good work :)

great pics, hampstead seems a nice, quiet peaceful place to live in and away from hectic life of modern city need more places like these around the world

Hampstead is my favorite neighbourhood in london

lovely, lovely area.......:cheers:

These are lovely photos. Hampstead is an area full of charm that will hopefully remain that way in the future, its my favourite part of London, probably because I grew up that part of the city.

Nice Pictures
Thanks for sharing

amazing pictures, I love hampstead my Aunt and Uncle live there and he loves it so much he gave up his job in the City to work as a ranger on the heath for a year!

Here's a few more pics of lovely Hampstead...

No doubt these houses cost a bomb
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7591/churchlanevg1.jpg

Pretty little cottages (which no doubt cost a bomb)
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7217/cottageskf4.jpg

A large house that looks haunted - which no doubt cost a bomb (you get the idea, this is Hampstead).
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2575/hauntedhousepr0.jpg

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/7922/windowboxwx4.jpg

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9137/shopfrontspl7.jpg

This kinda looks Mediterranean i think...
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1134/hollywalk2nb7.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5131/shutterscc4.jpg

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6369/mountvernon1ig6.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9427/socialcr5.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/204/churchviewmo6.jpg

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/852/backssm3.jpg

Trellick Tower in the distance..
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/7815/trellickyr1.jpg

Moving over to West Hampstead now - about a mile or so from Hampstead Village, but just as nice (and the houses still cost a bomb).
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/5831/westhampstead1yt2.jpg

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/8105/westhampstead2dl4.jpg

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/8458/westhampstead3am4.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/8199/scootersmn4.jpg

And finally, i think this hippy mobile is following me around :shifty: - i constantly see it driving past me, or parked in different areas of North London...its starting to scare me.
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/6332/coolcar1vk3.jpg

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/551/coolcar2di7.jpg

i got so moist and damp looking at these pics, shame its like £9,000,000,000,000,000 for even the smallest rabbit hutch in those parts :cry: the variety of building styles is quite frankly :drool:

This area is pretty, indeed! However, there are so many nice areas like these in and around London that it is hard to tell which one is "exlcusive". My brother lives in Northwood Hills and, to me, that area, and those in its vicinity such as Pinner and Rickmansworth, looked just as nice with huge houses and expensive.

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7591/churchlanevg1.jpg

Ahhh, nothing beats a good terrace of homes:)

Cool neighborhoods, cool pics

wow! i didn't know that part of London :) it's true, you'll never know everything about that city

Lovely pictures.

Amazing pics :cheers: London is very nice, amazing city

All of Hamstead/Highgate are very nice.

Ooooh la la la, my kind of place. I love the pink canopies :) Thanks for a great tour.